Euro-sceptics have their say over the Heineken Cup quarter-finals

Lopsided Heineken Cup quarter-finals, another week of soap on planet rugby and an overseas instalment of the Exeter roadshow

Conor O'Shea, director of rugby at top-of-the-table Harlequins, will not be involved in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals, and is not short of an opinion or two about that fact. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

The quarter-final phase of the Heineken Cup is frequently described as the best weekend of the European rugby year. Watching the continent's best teams locked together like muscular scorpions certainly captures the imagination. Leinster are close to filling the Aviva Stadium for the visit of Cardiff Blues, there is not a spare seat for Munster versus Ulster and even Edinburgh expect in excess of 30,000 for the visit of Toulouse. Saracens and Clermont are not about to bring Watford to a standstill, but filling Vicarage Road has always been a murderous task.

Nagging away in the background, though, is an uncomfortable question. Is there a genuinely level playing field in European club and provincial rugby, or does the last eight line-up highlight a flaw in the tournament's structure? Perhaps you would expect a hint of jealousy from those clubs not involved, but the presence of five clubs from the RaboDirect Pro12 is not impressing many coaches in England and France. There is a widespread view the Irish, Welsh, Scots and Italians benefit from a system spring-loaded in their favour.

In the Premiership and the Top 14 the only way to qualify for the Heineken Cup is to scrap through a season-long league programme and finish in the top half, while simultaneously seeking to avoid relegation. Eleven of the 12 sides in the old Magners League, in contrast, safely made the cut. Finishing bottom carries no real sting.

For that reason the leading Irish provinces, in particular, can afford to rest their best players far more often than their English and French counterparts, secure in the knowledge Heineken Cup rugby is assured. Edinburgh currently lie 11th, just above Aironi, but both sides will be dining at the top table as usual next season

For the likes of Conor O'Shea, the smart, popular Irishman who is Harlequins' director of rugby, this is increasingly an anachronism. Quins are clear at the top of the Premiership and beat Toulouse away in December, but they are not among Europe's supposed elite this weekend. Had they not been required to juggle so many crucial balls, their costly defeat at Connacht in January, following a hectic domestic Christmas period, might well not have happened. O'Shea is calling for more "consistency" and a "different" system whereby only the top-six clubs in the three domestic leagues – plus the Heineken Cup and Amlin Cup winners – qualify automatically for the following year's tournament.

"Bath are an excellent rugby side and they may not be in the Heineken Cup next year," says O'Shea. "Are the two Italian sides among the best in Europe? No, they're patently not. I understand fully about the need for breadth and the importance of growing the game, but there are ways to do that. I think it would make it a more even playing field.

"You would have every competition providing their best six teams. If that means no Scottish sides or Italian sides, then so be it. They play in the Amlin Challenge Cup. You earn the right. It's not to denigrate the Heineken Cup – it's a brilliant competition – but you would like to see it being a meritocracy. Edinburgh are 11th in their league at the moment. It'll be a fantastic occasion against Toulouse, but they've been able to rest their players because they know they're in Europe again next year. I hope they go out and give Toulouse a great go, but you'd never get a similar situation in England or France. Everyone goes hell for leather all the time."

Lawrence Dallaglio has been similarly vocal on the same subject for years and even the organisers acknowledge there is a genuine debate going on, while stressing any changes would require unanimous board support under the tournament's current accord.

The issue is complicated by the financial insecurity of the Welsh regions and the likelihood of a player exodus to France and England if Heineken Cup rugby were to be denied to teams who currently take it for granted. Yet as the Welsh sides can testify, that process is happening anyway.

Would it harm Scottish rugby if their players had to fight tooth and nail for Heineken Cup recognition? If anything, it would toughen up a few mentally. The Challenge Cup is an increasingly strong competition and the creation of a third European tournament, to help encourage the game in Georgia, Romania, Russia and Portugal, would further allay fears the game's horizons are shrinking. European Rugby Cup Ltd has much to ponder.

Soap Opera

So Sir Ian McGeechan is moving on from Bath, with Gary Gold, Nick Mallett, Mike Catt and Toby Booth all linked with a role beside the Avon. Gavin Henson has blown it again, just when Jamie Roberts needs knee-reconstruction surgery and will be out for six months. Sale are heading for Salford, and Wasps are about to be taken over and potentially relocated. The Welsh regions are staring nervously into the financial abyss. Say what you like about professional rugby union in Britain but, even in a quiet week, it contains more plot twists than Homeland. Boring stability will never catch on.

Worth watching this week

Stade Français v Exeter Chiefs. Here's a European quarter-final fixture few could have conceived even a couple of years ago. It says everything about the Chiefs' near-vertical ascent up the English rankings that they will cross the Channel in genuine hope rather than trepidation. Devon clotted cream versus crème brûlée? It is a cultural collision to be savoured, regardless of the result.